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Making News Today…

Thompson skids while Romney, Paul climb in N.H. poll

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson has skidded into sixth place in a new CNN/WMUR poll of likely Republican voters in New Hampshire, edged out by ex-Libertarian and anti-war congressman Ron Paul and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney topped the poll, widening a lead he has held for months in neighboring New Hampshire, while Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani were running close in the second and third spots. Full Story

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Obama cites childhood in helping shape world view

CLARION, Iowa (CNN) - Presidential hopeful Barack Obama told an audience Monday that some of his strongest foreign relations experience comes from having spent four years of his childhood in Indonesia, and having family ties to Kenya.

After first mentioning that as a senator he's had "frequent interactions with world leaders" on fact-finding missions across the globe, the Illinois Democrat added, "But you know, probably the strongest experience I have in foreign relations is the fact that I spent four years living overseas when I was a child in Asia — Southeast Asia." Full Story

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A quartet of general election debates

There hasn’t been a single vote cast yet for president, but the Commission on Presidential Debates announced Monday the schedule for the 2008 general election debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees.

Mark your calendars:

* Presidential debate at University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi - September 26, 2008

Washington Post: For Democrats, Iowa Still Up for Grabs
The top three Democratic presidential contenders remain locked in a close battle in Iowa, with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) seeing her advantages diminish on key issues, including the questions of experience and which candidate is best prepared to handle the war in Iraq, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

LA Times: Giuliani Is Slammed Twice On Sept. 11 IssuesRudolph W. Giuliani's image as 9/11 mayor took a double hit Monday as he lost a key endorsement from the Sept. 11 commission chair to a rival, and New York firefighters and families of victims of the terrorist attacks took their campaign against him to New Hampshire.

WSJ: Iowa's House of Labor Is Split
Alan Anderson is urging fellow United Steelworkers in Mason City, Iowa, to support John Edwards. Joe Bohl, a cousin who works for the city's water utility, says he and other members of the government employees' union will likely back Sen. Hillary Clinton.

LA Times: Clinton, Obama Clash Over Experience
Amid new polling that points to a shift in momentum in this crucial state, Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama made arguments Monday that electing the other would prove a costly mistake.

DC Examiner: Giuliani Promotes Virtual Fence
Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani pushed the idea of a "virtual" rather than a real fence along much of the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday, an issue that's controversial in the Rio Grande Valley where many people oppose construction of a physical fence to stop illegal immigration.

Washington Post: The Specter of Swift Boating
The kerfuffle over the weekend caused by columnist Bob Novak's assertion that Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign possesses "scandalous information" on Barack Obama, but has decided not to use it, highlights the sensitivity within the party over alleged dirty tricks and the lingering effect of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads in 2004.

LA Times: A Gap In GOP Candidates' Healthcare Proposals
Rudy Giuliani, Senator John McCain and Fred Thompson have all offered proposals with the stated aim of helping the 47 million people in the U.S. who have no health insurance, including those with preexisting medical conditions. But under the plans all three have put forward, cancer survivors such as themselves could not be sure of getting coverage…

Quad City Times: Edwards Rocks in Q-C
On a day when Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were in central Iowa arguing over who would be more experienced on the economy, John Edwards brought a pair of near-60 rock ’n’ rollers to Davenport on Monday, arguing he’s the real agent for change.

LA Times: Lawmakers Seek A Cash Advance For Conventions
A stalemate in Washington is holding up money for security at next year's Republican and Democratic conventions and could force Minneapolis-St. Paul and Denver to front tens of millions of dollars, lawmakers warned Monday.

Politico: Retirements Push GOP To The Right
The unexpected retirement of Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.) marks the latest in an exodus of moderate Republicans that is pushing the caucus in a rightward direction and could potentially cripple the party’s chances of winning back seats in swing districts next year.

*Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, attends Organizing for Change events at the Shenandoah Volunteer Fire Department Garage in Shenandoah, Iowa and the Chicken Inn in Creston. Clinton will end the day by sharing donated food items and volunteering at the Central Iowa Shelter and Services in Des Moines.

*Former Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina, will hold two community meeting events with special performances by Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, and Roosevelt High School in Des Moines.

* Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will hold a press conference at the Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Chicago, and then meet with local supporters at the Maple Tree Restaurant in Oak Park, Illinois.

* Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will take questions from reporters just before a fundraising reception in Tampa, Florida.

* Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, will make campaign stops in Concord, New Hampshire including a book signing at Gibson's Bookstore in a town hall meeting at Concord High School.

* Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, will deliver a policy speech at Manchester Central High School in Manchester, New Hampshire. Obama will also attend a service event at the New Horizons Food Pantry in Manchester. Obama will spend the remainder of the day holding meet the candidate events at Prospect Mountain High School in Alton, Kennett High School in North Conway, and Memorial Middle School in Laconia.

* Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, will attend a rally for his campaign at Lawlor Events Center at the University of Nevada in Reno, Nevada.

* New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will hold two health care town halls in New Hampshire - one at Rivier College in Nashua and the other at VFW Post in Derry. He will then hold a "Presidential Job Interview" in Merrimack.

* Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will give a speech at Des Moines University on health care titled "Stronger America: Expanding Access to Affordable Health Care." Romney will then tour the Skiff Medical Center in Newton, Iowa. The GOP candidate will hold a Jasper County "Ask Mitt Anything" event at The Newton Country Club in Newton.